Quitting Time
by Sheytune
Summary: Brennan has been gone for two years, but runs into Booth when she returns for Angela's wedding. This is a continuation of Quit from my "Are You Ready to Fight" series.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** I believe I said I was going to do a continuation of Over (from "Are You Ready To Fight?"). I was wrong - it's actually a continuation of Quit. If you read it over there, this chapter will be familiar. The final chapter follows.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

* * *

"Bren! Over here!"

As Brennan descended the escalator to the baggage claim area, her attention was caught by a familiar voice. There was Angela, waving frantically at her. She lifted her hand to return the wave.

Admittedly, she had only been back in D.C. for 5 minutes, but she was amazed at how familiar it felt. She was surprised – she had expected it to feel different. She had been gone for two years, after all.

She stepped off the escalator and wove through the crowd until she reached Angela. Angela immediately wrapped her in a hug, talking a mile a minute. "Is that all of your luggage, or do we need to wait for the rest of it? How was the flight? You're staying with us, right? Hodgins has lots of room. I'm _so glad_ you came for my wedding."

Brennan had friends in Egypt, but there was no one in her life there that she was as close to as she was to Angela. When Angela had told her she was getting married, there was no choice – she knew she had to come back for the wedding. If she was being perfectly honest, she had to admit to herself that she had wanted to come back for a long time. Angela's wedding was the perfect excuse.

When Angela finally stopped for breath, Brennan attempted to answer. "Of course I came for your wedding, Ang. You're my best friend. The flight was long, but fine. I'm glad to be here. This is all of my luggage, I didn't pack much since I'm just here for the weekend. Yes, I'll stay with you if you have room. I know the wedding is on Saturday, what do you need me to do?"

Leading the way to the car, Angela continued her monologue. "Well, this afternoon I need you to try on your bridesmaid dress so we can have it altered before the wedding. Tonight a bunch of us are going out for the bachelorette party. Tomorrow we're going to the spa – massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, the whole works. Tomorrow night is the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. Saturday is the wedding. I'm so glad you're here! You leave on Sunday, right?"

Brennan laughed. "Yes, late Sunday, I'm going to spend the day with my dad, Russ, Amy, and the kids. I don't remember you talking this much."

"I'm excited that you're here! I haven't seen you in two years!"

"I invited you to come and visit last summer, but you couldn't make it, remember?"

'I know, Sweetie, and I wanted to, but it just didn't work out. You're here now, though, and we are going to have a great time!"

They arrived at the house, and Angela showed Brennan to her room. Brennan took a much-anticipated shower, they ate a quick lunch, and then they headed off to meet Cam at the bridal shop.

It was just like old times – if old times had involved trying on dresses and talking about hair styles instead of analyzing dead bodies and solving murders. The three of them laughed at the thought of the giant bows on the front of the first set of bridesmaid dresses all of those years ago. Brennan's eyes filled with tears when Angela mentioned that Zach was getting a day pass from the hospital to attend the wedding. Michelle was in university, and Cam shared stories of her phone calls home.

Finally, Brennan got tired of wondering. She didn't miss the look Angela and Cam exchanged when she asked, "Will Booth be at the wedding?"

Angela sat down beside her and said, "Bren, we haven't seen Booth much since you left. He came around a couple of times, but then he requested a transfer. I think it was too hard to be in the lab without you there. We've seen him maybe three times since then, but we _did_ invite him. He replied that he's coming – and he's bringing a date."

Cam added, "Teresa. I'm pretty sure he's bringing Teresa. They've been dating for a few months now."

Brennan's smile was shaky as she said, "That's nice. It will be good to see him again." With that, she excused herself and went into the bathroom.

Angela looked at Cam. "You know, I love Brennan, but sometimes I get so _angry_ with her. What was she thinking, taking off like that? Did she think Booth would wait around forever?"

Placing her hand on Angela's, Cam said, "He loved her. When she left, he was lost. I never really understood why he didn't go after her."

Angela nodded. "I know. I thought he would. Sometimes I think Brennan did too."

* * *

The sun was shining and the air was crisp on the day of the wedding. The morning was a rush. Hair appointments were followed by make-up appointments, then Angela, Brennan, and Cam had a quick lunch and got dressed.

After the simple ceremony, the wedding party posed for more pictures than Brennan thought possible. There were pictures of the bride and groom, pictures of the bridesmaids, pictures of the groomsmen, pictures of the entire wedding party, and pictures of the bride and groom with family and friends. Finally, it was time for the reception.

Most of the guests were already in the hall when the wedding party finally arrived. As they walked in, Brennan immediately noticed Booth talking with a blonde woman on the left side of the room. Apparently, her "Booth radar" still worked after two years of neglect.

Everyone enjoyed the scrumptious meal. The toasts were short, and soon the dancing started. Looking around the room at all of the happy couples, Brennan felt the need to escape. Deciding that no one would notice if she stepped outside for a couple of minutes, she ducked out onto the patio.

The night was clear, and she could see more stars than she would have expected. She was looking for Delphinus when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hi, Bones."

She pasted a smile on her face and turned. "Booth! Hi! It's good to see you." Moving close, she gave him a quick hug.

He hesitated a second before returning the hug, then the arms that were so familiar to her were around her again. "I didn't expect to see you here, Bones."

She shrugged. "Angela is my best friend. I had to come."

Silence stretched between them, and Brennan struggled to find something to say. It used to be so _easy_ to talk to him.

Finally, Booth broke the silence. "How's Egypt?"

Happy for something to talk about, Brennan answered, "Oh! It's good. The dig is great, we've made some amazing finds."

He smiled at her. "Good. I'm glad you're happy."

"You too. Cam was telling me about you and Teresa."

His smile seemed a bit forced as he said, "Yes. We've been dating for four months now. It's going well."

"Good, good." Brennan couldn't believe how much hearing him talk about another woman hurt, even after all that time. Anxious to end the conversation, she said "Well, I should get back."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

She turned to go back inside, only to be stopped by his voice. "Bones? Why did you leave?"

She turned back. "I explained it to you before I left, Booth. I had the opportunity to be part of this prestigious dig, and I decided to take it."

She had forgotten how often he invaded her personal space until he took a step forward. "There's more to it than that, Bones. We were an amazing team. We solved crimes, we caught criminals, but more than that, we were friends. You were my _best_ friend. Why did you quit? Why did you throw that away?"

Ducking her head slightly to avoid his intense gaze, she replied, "I had to make a choice, Booth. I chose Egypt. I didn't intend to hurt you." Happy with her half-truth, she again turned to go.

He wasn't happy with the answer, and he stepped in front of her to block the door. "Why? Was … was it me? Did _I_ do something to make you leave?"

She smiled a sad smile. "It wasn't what you did, Booth. It was what you _couldn't_ do."

In the second it took him to react, she ducked around him and went back into the reception hall. He caught up to her two feet inside the door, spinning her around to face him. "What I couldn't do? What does that mean?"

She pulled back, saying, "It doesn't matter now. You have Teresa, and I'm in Egypt."

Booth's mind stumbled to process that information. What he couldn't do had something to do with Teresa? Did that mean …? "Did you … were you … why did you leave, Bones?"

Noticing that they were starting to attract attention, Brennan grabbed his arm and dragged him back outside. "Booth, it was a good career move, but you're right, that wasn't the whole story. Before I left, I realized I had fallen in love with you. I knew you didn't feel the same way, so I left. I needed space to get over it. Besides, we were too close, you wouldn't have found someone else with me here, and I wanted you to be happy. And it worked, right? You have Teresa, and you're happy. I'm glad. Now can I get back to the reception?"

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Booth sat down on an empty patio chair. 'Wait a minute. You were in love with me, and you _left_? You didn't even _tell_ me?"

Brennan pulled a chair over and sat down beside him. "Booth, you didn't feel the same way. You told me dozens of times. I just didn't want it to be awkward. It was better for both of us if I left – so I did."

Stunned, Booth said, "When, Bones? When did I tell you that I wasn't in love with you?"

Wishing she could be anywhere else, but knowing she had to tell him the truth, Brennan replied, "You didn't call me when you faked your death. You called me 'Dr. Burn in Hell'. You said you loved me in a professional way. Should I go on?"

Booth obviously hadn't realized how she had interpreted his words. His mind raced, trying to find a way to explain. Brennan sat there, concerned that she had said something wrong, until finally he said, "Bones, I _was_ in love with you. I just … you said _so many times_ that love was just a chemical in the brain. I was afraid that if I told you how I felt, you wouldn't believe me. Besides, I've always thought that one day I'd get married and have kids. Even after Parker was born and Rebecca wouldn't marry me, I thought it would happen, you know? Admitting I was in love with you meant giving up on those dreams, and I was scared. The sad part is that _not_ admitting that I loved you is what made you leave.

"Bones, when you left I was miserable. I missed you _so much_. I couldn't stand going to the Jeffersonian without you there, so I requested a transfer. The squints reminded me of you, so I stopped spending time with them. Finally, I decided that I needed to stop moping. I started dating again, and I met Teresa. I like her, Bones, but seeing you again made me realize that I'll never feel about her the way that I felt – the way that I _feel_ – about you."

Brennan's eyes filled with tears. "When I left, I missed you _every day_ – but that was a long time ago. I went on with my life. I went to work, I met new people – and you did too. Booth, I know you're emotional. It's a wedding, and we haven't seen each other in years, but let's not make something of this that it isn't. We're not the same people we were two years ago. It was good to see you, but I'm leaving tomorrow. Any chance we might have had has passed. Go. Dance with Teresa, wish Angela and Jack well, and be happy. I'll go back to Egypt, and I'll work on the dig. Maybe sometime in the future we'll run into each other and you can tell me all about your wife and kids. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the reception."

As she reached for the doorknob, Booth spoke. "So that's it? You're just going to quit?"

Exasperated, she said, "_Quit? _There's nothing to quit, Booth! We haven't seen each other in _two years_."

He stepped towards her, backing her into the door. "Oh, there's _something_ to quit. We were _friends_. We were _in love_. Sure, we haven't seen each other in a couple of years, but _I still love you_ – and I think you still love me. I think you know that, too – and you're scared."

"Booth, you're being ridiculous. Maybe we would have had a chance back then, but we live on different _continents_. There's nothing to quit. Whatever we had – whatever we _could have had_ – that time has passed."

He placed one hand on either side of her, trapping her against the door. "I. Still. Love. You. You. Still. Love. Me. We're not going to quit because of _geography_."

"But …" Her protest was stopped by the pressure of his lips.

The kiss was everything he'd ever dreamed it would be, everything she'd ever dreamed it would be. It wasn't until another guest tried the door that it ended. When it did, though, everything they had been avoiding came rushing back.

"Bones, I have to go take Teresa home. I need to tell her I can't see her anymore."

"Booth …"

"She deserves more than a man who is in love with someone else. Look, Bones, I know you're worried about starting something with me, and I know you live somewhere else now, but will you have breakfast with me tomorrow? I miss you."

Brennan wanted to say no. She had spent a long time moving on, and she was afraid that letting him into her life again would put her right back where she'd started, but she had missed him too. "Yes. I'll have breakfast with you tomorrow."

"Great!" With that, Booth stepped through the door to find his date.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** Here's the last part. I hope I haven't strayed too far out of character.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

* * *

Brennan walked out of the customs area in Cairo, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Almost immediately, she spotted Claire, an archeologist who had joined on the dig a few months earlier. Claire was the kind of person who seemed to make friends effortlessly, and since she had joined the dig, Brennan had enjoyed having her around. In some ways, Claire reminded her of Angela.

Before long, they were settled into a dusty jeep, heading out towards the dig. As they left Cairo behind them, Claire asked, 'So? How was the wedding? Tell me everything!"

"It was good. Nice. They actually got married this time."

"_This_ time?"

Brennan laughed. "About five years ago they were going to get married, but at the last minute they couldn't because Angela was already married."

"Didn't she _know_ she was married?"

"It was something about jumping over a stick in Fiji. She didn't think it was legal."

Claire grinned. "But it was?"

"Yes"

"I think I'd like this friend of yours."

Brennan nodded. "You would. Everyone likes Angela."

"So? Any single guys at this wedding?"

Brennan looked out at the passing desert. "Well…"

"Oooh, there's something to tell! Come on, spill. I've been stuck in this desert with only dry academics to talk to for _months_."

Brennan smiled, glancing back at her friend. "Claire, _you're_ an academic. So am I."

"That's why we need to mix with non-academics, otherwise we end up talking about papers we're writing and which dig is running out of funding. So, tell me about this guy you met."

"I didn't actually _meet _him."

"Tempe, what are you saying? You saw a hot, single guy at a romantic wedding and you didn't _meet_ him?"

"I already knew him."

"Oooh, We've got a long drive ahead of us, Tempe, start talking."

"He … we used to be partners."

"And?"

"And friends."

"That's it?"

"Well …"

"You were sleeping with him, weren't you?"

"No! I just … Have you ever known someone who almost knows you better than you know yourself? That's what Booth was to me. He was my closest friend."

"So why'd you lose touch?"

"I was in love with him. I guess I'd known for a while, but I wouldn't admit it to myself, because I didn't think he felt the same way. Once I figured it out, I needed space to get over it. Besides, he wanted a wife and kids, and most of the women he dated seemed to resent me. I didn't want to stand in his way. That's why I decided to come here to work on the dig."

_They sat at their table at the diner, a plate half full of fries between them. _

"_What's bothering you, Bones?"_

_Brennan felt consumed by guilt, wishing she could put off telling him a little longer. "What makes you think something's bothering me, Booth?"_

"_You haven't stolen a single fry. Something __must__ be wrong. Come on, you can tell me.", he coaxed._

_She looked at him, trying to memorize his face. "There's a dig in Egypt."_

"_So what, you're going to head over there on your vacation?"_

_She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to tell him. "I've agreed to go for a year. I leave next week. I told Cam this morning."_

"So what happened when you saw him again?"

"We … talked."

"Come on, Tempe, don't hold out on me. I'm trying to live vicariously through you, you know."

"We talked a little at the reception and he asked me to meet him for breakfast."

"And? Come on, Tempe, what happened?"

_They sat at the diner, trapped in an uncomfortable silence, until the waitress came to take their orders. _

_When she left, Booth brought up the wedding and they spent several minutes pleasantly discussing the reception – Zach's crazy dancing, Angela's father's musical toast, Hodgins's cousin's breakdancing injury. When they had exhausted the wedding talk, they naturally moved on to other topics - Brennan's life in Egypt, Parker's baseball team, Booth's new apartment. It wasn't until the waitress had cleared their plates away that Booth brought up the reason they were sitting there. "I've missed this, Bones."_

_Brennan stared down at her coffee cup, playing with her spoon. "I've missed this too, Booth, but don't you think it has been too long?"_

"He … he said he was in love with me, too. He said he still was in love with me."

"And you're still in love with him."

"I didn't say that."

"Not with words. So?"

_He reached out, putting his hand on hers. "I'm still in love with you. I guess the question is, do you feel the same way?"_

_She looked up. "I don't know, Booth. I know that I've missed you – but it's been two years. We can't just pick up where we left off. I'm not even sure if I want to."_

_She saw his jaw tighten as she continued, "Booth, we live on different continents. I can't just ignore that. I don't want to be with someone unless I can actually __be__ with him. I don't want to be committed to someone I see twice a year."_

_Booth's eyes locked on hers as he said, "You have a good point. Well, I see three options. Option 1: we do the long distance thing, meeting as often as we can. Option 2: I find a job in Egypt – it might be a little tricky with Parker, but it's a possibility. Option 3: You move back here."_

"_Or option 4 … we keep things as they are – me in Egypt, you in DC."_

"So if he loves you and you love him, why are you here?"

"What? I work here."

"So you go back to DC, see the guy you're still in love with, find out he's still in love with you, and get on a plane back to Egypt?"

"I had to come back, I'm committed to the dig."

"Who _cares_ about the dig?"

Brennan laughed. "I do, Claire. I've worked on this project for two years. I can't just walk away!"

"So you're just giving up on this guy?"

"Not exactly."

"So? Stop holding out on me."

"_So we're agreed?"_

"_Yes. You come to visit me in Egypt next month, I'll come back for a visit the month after that, and we'll talk whenever we can. After two months, we'll evaluate. I'm committed to the dig for four more months, but after that I can move back if things are working out."_

"_Right."_

"_I should get going. I'm supposed to be at my dad's place in half an hour."_

"_Can I pick you up and drive you to the airport?"_

"We're going to try a long distance relationship. We'll talk whenever we can, and he's coming here next month."

"Did you have sex with him?"

Brennan laughed. "You sound like Angela. No, we didn't have sex."

"Why not?"

"Booth is a romantic. He wants our first time to be special, and there just wasn't time."

"Gee, Tempe, I would think that in a situation like that, you'd _make_ time."

"We didn't figure any of this out until breakfast yesterday, and I promised my dad I'd spend the afternoon with him and my brother's family. Booth did give me a ride to the airport, though."

"And you didn't stop at a hotel?"

"No. But when he walked me to security, he kissed me."

"Look at you. That is the goofiest expressions I've ever seen on your face."

Brennan glanced over at her. "Oh, I guess …"

"No, it's good. I'm glad you found someone you like that much. And I can't wait to meet him."

"Meet him?"

"He's coming here next month, right?"

'Yes."

"There's that goofy expression again."

* * *

**Also, I'm thinking of doing another alphabet series of one-shots – not fights, necessarily, and not Booth and Brennan necessarily (although I'm sure some of them will be BB fights, 'cause those are fun). Of course, that means I need A words. Any ideas?**


End file.
